Dream Theater

It seems to me that Portnoy is trying to downplay his role in Derek's firing, when in previous interviews he's said that Rudess was the keyboard player they wanted all along.
 
It's definitely true that they got along great and Portnoy always spoke highly of Derek afterwards. Still, I always interpreted Derek's firing as a no brainer and probably something Portnoy pushed for. Keep in mind around this time he began to push for more control in the band.
 
Considering his general approach toward DT since the split, the fact that they now collaborate on a project together and... well... considering it's Portnoy, I wouldn't take him for the most reliable source of information. I could be wrong, though. Still, I'd appreciate if he kept his comments on DT, LaBrie or whatever else on minimum in general.
 
I'm looking to discover new music, hopefully something similar to Dream Theater. Similar in the sense that the band should have a wide variety of material and their style should range from heavy thrashy stuff to soulful melodious pieces. It doesn't have to be prog as I don't associate DT with prog that much to begin with. High production value is another great bonus. I haven't come across anything quite like that. As much as I've tried Symphony X, they have nice harmony but come across as power metal and overly theatrical at times. Any suggestions?
Oh, another thing. I'm not intersted in DT clones that try to do everything exactly like DT.
 
Haken. They're by far my favorite current prog Metal group and their first four albums wipe the floor with the last four DT albums. Try The Mountain.
 
Listened to Haken's The Mountain and Seventh Wonder's Mercy Falls. Haken is instrumentally nice and atmospheric but the vocals could be improved, imo. Going to check them out more. Seventh Wonder started out promising but I couldn't finish the album. Strong vocalist, but the instruments are not as intriguing. It sounds very busy and all over the place. SW's albums appear sonically similar to DT's self-titled, which is the most difficult DT album to listen to in terms of sound, imo.
 
I agree with both of those things, but I still love Seventh Wonder. You also chose an album that has incredibly off-putting, terrible voice acting. Maybe try The Great Escape - although the music will be no less wanky. I cannot get into Haken because of the vocals, either.

Honestly, if you're looking for something that sounds like Dream Theater without ripping off Dream Theater, you might be searching for awhile. Dream Theater have a pretty specific sonic outlook that most bands do not have.
 
Setlist from start of US leg:

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/dream-theater/2017/the-fox-theater-oakland-ca-1be31d9c.html

had never heard of the Cleaning Out the Closet cd. A fan club only release from years ago that features the 2 new additions to the setlist To Live Forever and Don't Look Past Me. TLF is available on Amazon (included on compilation cd i had heard of but never bought hilariously titled Greatest Hit and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs), but DLPM i had to YouTube to find. It opens with an audio sample by Robert DeNiro from The Deer Hunter

 
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